


Out

by EldritchSandwich



Series: Out, Proud, Out Loud [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, F/F, Fluffy Sandwich, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Post-Series, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 08:23:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9376580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldritchSandwich/pseuds/EldritchSandwich
Summary: As the Gang settles in LA after the destruction of Sunnydale, Buffy comes face to face with a ghost from her past. Well, not a ghost, really, so much as a former classmate with some very interesting ideas about her relationship with Faith.





	

"Great, thanks." Willow cupped her hand over the phone's receiver. "They say we can stay as long as we need to. They won't be back for a few weeks, some...interdimensional crisis thing? I don't know, Fred's even more babbly than usual."

Buffy smiled tiredly as Faith tried not to smirk. "Thanks, Will."

As the readhead nodded and turned to head back inside, Faith looked up at the building with a grin. "So. Save the world, and you get to stay in a fancy hotel. I oughta be a hero more often."

Buffy chuckled, which as exhausted as she was probably qualified as a miracle. "Faith, listen...while it's just the two of us, I just want to say—"

"You don't have to say anything," Faith cut in. "I just did the right thing. Had to learn how eventually, right?"

Buffy smiled fondly as she watched the other Slayer stretch. Faith was every bit as tired as she was, and every bit as determined not to let it show. She was suddenly struck by an image of the good old days—and God, how messed up was it to be thinking of them as that—back when she and Faith first started patrolling together, staying out later than she had before just because of the unspoken desire not to be the first one to yawn. "Been a hell of a ride, hasn't it?"

Faith laughed. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

"Seems like just yesterday you were sneaking me out of class to run off together."

Faith grinned roguishly. "Sounds kind of romantic when you put it like that." Buffy's cheeks colored a little as Faith chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "I'll go check on the unaccompanied minors. You take a sec."

Buffy just nodded gratefully as Faith followed Willow into the hotel to join in the attempt to get all the potentials—no, she corrected herself, all the Slayers—settled in for the evening instead of letting Kennedy convince them they deserved to go out and 'get their LA on.' When she was alone, Buffy scrubbed her hands down her face with a sigh. Sunnydale was really gone. Now that the dust had settled, that was probably the hardest part to accept. She felt like the second she turned around, she was going to be confronted with a reminder of its existence, even though that—

"Buffy? Omigod, Buffy Summers? From Sunnydale High?"

Buffy's eyes shot open to find a freckled young woman she'd vaguely noticed carrying some boxes out to the curb next door walking up to her, eyes wide. She cleared her throat, trying not to make the combat stance she dropped into too obvious. "Yes? Sorry, do I—"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Monica. Monica Colby. You probably don't remember me, but we went to high school together." Buffy opened her mouth to dissemble while she tried to remember who the hell this girl was, but Monica just shook her head. "Oh, no, sorry, that's okay, we didn't, like...know each other-know each other. I was a sophomore when you were a senior. And then obviously after that I transferred on account of the school blowing up, so..."

Buffy cleared her throat uncomfortably. This girl was looking at her in a wide-eyed, almost worshipful way that she was pretty sure she didn't have the energy for. "Right. Sorry. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice to...finally meet you, I guess, but...was there something you—"

Monica winced. "Sorry. This is...kind of embarrassing, it's just...you were kind of a legend. I mean, no one knew a hundred percent what the deal was with you, but there were all these rumors and...it's just nice to see you're still...real, you know?"

Buffy chuckled a little to herself. _Real. Sometimes I wonder._ "Well, thanks. I—"

"Hey, B?" Buffy managed not to jump when Faith's hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. "Sorry, but the kids are getting kinda restless, I think they might need another speech from General Mom."

As Buffy tried to hide her wince and turned to smile apologetically, she found Monica staring at them wide-eyed, hand over her mouth as she let out an actual, honest-to-god squeal. "Omigod! You...it's you!" Faith looked at Monica with a raised eyebrow, then at Buffy, who shrugged. The girl sucked in a breath. "I can't believe...you two are still together?"

Buffy and Faith's eyebrows rose, and the blonde Slayer cleared her throat. "Um, excuse me?"

When Monica's hand dropped from her mouth, she was beaming. "I can't believe it! I don't know what to...I'm sorry! This is so embarrassing!" Monica sniffed. "Back in high school, you two were...you were the reason I had the guts to come out too!" Buffy's eyes went wide. "Just seeing you being out and proud and not caring that anyone knew you were in love, it...and now finding out that you're still together, that you have a family! Omigod! I'm sorry, I'm crying, can I...can I hug you?"

"Uh—" was all Buffy was able to get out of her mouth before Monica did it anyway. "I love you guys!" Faith met Buffy's eyes over the top of Monica's head, the two Slayers smirking and blushing like a tomato respectively. Monica pulled back with an embarrassed cough. "Sorry, um...listen, if you two are going to be in the city for a while, my girlfriend and I would love to take you out for coffee!"

Buffy's mouth was moving, but no sounds were coming out, so Faith just slung her arm around the blonde's shoulder with a smile. "We'd love to. We're gonna stick pretty close to the hotel, so just come on over whenever."

"Great!" Monica took a step back, nodding politely now that the buzz seemed to have worn off a little. "It was...really nice to see you again."

She paused halfway through the door to her townhouse to look back at them one last time, still beaming, and then closed the door. When she did, Buffy's hands shot up to cover her face. "Oh my god..." She turned to a grinning Faith and shook her head. "Can you believe she thought we were...a couple?"

Faith's grin turned sheepish. "Uh, B, I'm pretty sure she wasn't the only one." Buffy blinked, and Faith shrugged. "Come on, between me sneaking you out of class and the way we used to dance at the Bronze, I'm pretty sure half that school thought we were knockin' boots."

Buffy flushed even hotter as she studied Faith's face. Aside from the gently teasing smile, there was something else in her eyes...something vulnerable. Something that, if she was honest, had always been there, and had only gotten more obvious when Faith lost her way. Buffy licked her lips. "That was a...a different time."

Faith just nodded. "Yeah. I mean, who knows what would've happened back then if I'd just...leaned a little too close one night and accidentally kissed you?"

Buffy's cheeks burned. They had always been close back then, hadn't they? When they talked, when they fought...when they danced...just the two of them, dismissing the boys who tried to hit on them with a gesture, bodies wrapped around each other and mouths practically close enough to...

Buffy cleared her throat and shook her head. "Well, I guess we'll never know."

Faith took a step back, a sly smile as her eyes lingered on Buffy's mouth just a little too long. "Yeah. Guess we never will."

As Faith turned and headed back into the hotel, Buffy bit her lip and sank against the side of the empty school bus. She was being ridiculous, she told herself. That...closeness she'd had with Faith had been a lifetime ago, for both of them.

So what if everyone who'd seen them together assumed they were an item? So what if now, after everything they'd been through, they looked like an old married couple? That didn't really mean anything, did it?

As Buffy rose to follow Faith toward the door, her eyes were drawn inexorably down to the motion of the other Slayer's hips in those damn tight pants of hers. She bit her lip again.

This was a new life now, for all of them. The question was...what was she going to do with it?


End file.
